Italian Phrase
Cerca le stazioni di polizia.
Meaning
A direct command telling someone to look for, or search for, police stations. It can be used when you need to locate the nearest police office, either on a map, a phone app, or in the street.
When to use
Use this phrase when giving directions, helping a traveler, or asking a friend to find the nearest police station. It works well in emergency‑oriented conversations, travel‑planning, or when navigating a new city.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Cercalestazionidipolizia
Cerca (imperative)
Cerca is the second‑person singular imperative of cercare, used to give a direct command or suggestion.
le (definite article)
le is the plural feminine definite article, matching the noun stazioni.
stazioni (plural noun)
stazione means ‘station’; the plural stazioni is feminine and takes the article le.
di (preposition)
di links the noun polizia to stazioni, meaning ‘of’ or ‘for’.
polizia (singular noun)
polizia is a feminine singular noun meaning ‘police’; it does not change in the plural construction.
🗨In Conversation
Devo chiamare la polizia, ma non so dove siano le stazioni più vicine.
I need to call the police, but I don’t know where the nearest stations are.
Cerca le stazioni di polizia più vicine sul tuo telefono.
Search for the nearest police stations on your phone.
✕Common Mistakes
Cercare le stazioni di polizia.
Using the infinitive ‘cercare’ turns the sentence into a statement, not a command.
Cerca le stazione di polizia.
The article and noun must agree in number; ‘stazione’ is singular, so the article should be ‘la’ if singular is intended.
Cerca le stazioni di la polizia.
Do not repeat the article before ‘polizia’; the preposition ‘di’ already links the nouns.
↔Alternatives
Trova le stazioni di polizia.
Find the police stations.
Individua le stazioni di polizia.
Identify the police stations.
Cerca le caserme di polizia.
Search for police barracks.
Cultural Tip
In Italy the official term for a police office is ‘stazione di Polizia di Stato’, often shortened to ‘stazione di polizia’. Smaller towns may have a ‘Ufficio di Polizia’ instead. When speaking to strangers or officials, it’s polite to use the formal ‘Lei’ form (e.g., ‘Cerchi le stazioni di polizia?’) rather than the informal imperative.